"Being able to apply basic key strategies of project management really helped us navigate through the chaos and pull off an incredible event"
Study Project Management in Real-World Settings
Study Media and Entertainment at a Top University in Southern Taiwan
Marcella has managed sports days, live music events, workshops, graduations and more. So when she signed up to be project manager for the Cultural Ambassador event, she thought she had a pretty good idea of what she was getting into.
She didn’t.
“The scale and complexity of CA itself is on another level.” And that’s coming from someone who has seen a lot.
What Made Cultural Ambassador Different
It was not just the size of the event. It was all happening at once. A short deadline. A team of students, each with their own class schedules, part-time jobs, club commitments and exam prep. The constant pressure to keep everyone moving in the same direction.
“The time crunch alone was so intense. We had so much to get done in such a short window, all while juggling our regular coursework, part-time jobs, presentations, and preparing our final exams.”
That’s not a project management problem. That’s several project management problems stacked on top of each other.
What IMEM Had Already Taught Her
IMEM does not prepare you for easy times. It’s a program based on complexity, deadlines, and working with people with competing interests. Marcella had already learned to think in systems by the time she stepped into the PM role at CA.
The program gave her a grounding in the basics of project management: breaking down big goals into smaller tasks, setting realistic timeframes, and identifying the pressure points before they become crises.
But more importantly, it taught her that there are two skills, managing people and managing tasks, and you need both. IMEM courses, which often simulated high-stakes events, were no strangers to the feeling of pressure in a real environment. She’d been here before, but not in this way.
Keeping the Team on Track
Logistics wasn’t the hardest part of the CA. It was the people. It was keeping them focused when life kept leading them elsewhere.
“What really made it tough was keeping the team focused and on track. Everyone had other classes, clubs, and other obligations outside CA. It was a constant battle to make sure we all stayed aligned and didn’t get too distracted.” She was structured.
Regular check-ins to catch problems early, clarity on what was most important each day, and keeping the big picture visible to keep the team motivated even when things got messy. And knowing when to let go and trust the people around her, because a project manager who tries to do it all ends up doing nothing well.
What She Took Away
The hardest thing Marcella had done was CA. And it was the most precious. The skills IMEM taught her not only allowed her to survive it. They gave her a way to work when everything around her was moving at speed, and nothing was going exactly to plan. IMEM gave her the framework.
“CA was where she proved she could use it when it really counted.”
